A New Order of Fishlike Amphibia From the Pennsylvanian of KansasEaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)
Science
A New Order of Fishlike Amphibia From the Pennsylvanian of Kansas
Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)
Amphibians, Fossil; Paleontology -- Pennsylvanian
The bone that we take to be the stapes is blunt, flattened (perhaps by
crushing), 5.0 mm. in length, and has two unequal heads; its width
across both of these is 4.0 mm. The length is appropriate to fit
between the lateral face of the otic capsule and the dorsal edge of the
quadrate; the wider head rests on a posterodorsal concavity on the otic
capsule, and the smaller fits a lower, more anterior pit. Laterally the
stapes carries a short, broad process that probably made contact with a
dorsally placed tympanic membrane. Thus the bone was a hyomandibular in
the sense that it articulated with the quadrate, but it may also have
served as a stapes in sound-transmission. It contains no visible canal
or foramen.
_Mandible_ (Fig. 6)
The crushed inner surface of the posterior part of the left mandible
and most of the external surface of the right mandible are preserved in
close proximity. Although the whole length of the tooth-bearing margins
is missing, some parts of six elements of the right mandible can be
seen. The pattern of sutures and the general contour closely resemble
those of _Megalichthys_ (Watson, 1926, Figs. 37, 38) and other known
Rhipidistia.
The anteroposterior length of the mandible is about 23.8 mm., and the
depth is 3.8 mm. The dentary extends approximately 17.6 mm. back from
the symphysis, and its greatest width is probably 2.0 mm. Its lower
edge meets all the other lateral bones of the jaw. The splenial and
postsplenial form the curved anteroventral half of the jaw for a
distance of about 9.0 mm. The fragmented articular, on the posterior
end of the jaw, is 4.0 mm. long and 2.0 mm. deep, exhibiting a broken
upper edge; presumably the surface for articulation with the quadrate
was a shallow concavity, above the end of the articular.
[Illustration: FIG. 6. _Hesperoherpeton garnettense_ Peabody. Right
mandible, lateral view, KU 10295, × 4. External surfaces are pitted;
broken surfaces are coarsely stippled.]
VERTEBRAE (Fig. 7)
The vertebrae that are visible from a lateral view are crushed and
difficult to interpret. It is possible, nevertheless, to see that the
trunk vertebrae resemble those of Ichthyostegalia (Jarvik, 1952, Fig.
13 A, B), except that the pleurocentra are much larger. A few parts of
additional vertebrae can be seen, but they are so scattered that it is
impossible to be sure of their original location. Therefore comparisons
between different regions cannot yet be made.
The U-shaped intercentrum encloses the notochord and occupies an
anteroventral position in the vertebra. Anteriorly, each intercentrum
articulates with the pleurocentra of the next preceding vertebra by
slightly concave surfaces. Dorsolaterally there is an articular surface
for the capitulum of the rib.
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